Building construction



Feb. 26, 1952 A. H. GERBER 2,586,934

BUILDING CONSTRUCTION Filed Jan. 30, 1948 INVENTOR.

Ami H. amam Patented F eh. 26, 1952 BUILDING CONSTRUCTION Alfred H. Gerber, Bay Village, Ohio,

The H. K. Ferguson Company, a corporation of Ohio assignor to Cleveland, Ohio,

Application January 30, 1948, Serial No. 5,425 4 Claims. (01. 108-1) The present invention while relating generally, a indicated, to a building construction, is more particularly concerned with certain improvements in a factory or like building provided with one or more monitors on the roof thereof, such monitors being employed, among other reasons, for providing added illumination in the interior areas of the building.

In buildings of this character it is usual to employ roof supports in the form of deep girders or trusses, viz. of the order of 5 to 6 feet deep, for example, on top of which are supported one or more monitors. Other conventional structures involve the employment of relatively shallow roof beams with monitors supported thereon, said beams being intermediately supported by columns and knee braces which extend diagonally downward from said beams to said columns.

The first-named construction is open to the objection that for a given clearance height within the building the roof must be several feet above such clearance height (by reason of the deep girders or trusses) and correspondingly, a greater quantity of building material is required for the erection of the exterior walls of the building. On the other hand, the second-named construction is open to the objection that although the roof and walls will be considerably lower than in the first-named structure for a given clearance height, the clearance height will be objectionably reduced by the knee braces around the areas of the beam supporting columns.

Accordingly, it is a primary object of thi invention to provide a building construction in which the height of the building is a minimum for a predetermined uniform clearance height throughout the building thereby efiecting substantial economies not only in the amount of building material required but in erection time and labor as well as in subsequent maintenance, viz. painting, cleaning, etc., such reduced building height being obtained without any sacrifice in clearance.

Another object is to provide a building construction of very elemental but sturdy form in which plain beams may be employed without trussing or without including downwardly ex tending braces or the like.

. Another object is to provide a building construction which utilizes the space within the monitors for accommodating intermediate supports for the roof beams which may therefore be of correspondingly reduced size to thereby minimize the height of the building.

- Another object is to provide a building construction which may be readily and conveniently expanded as space requirements increase.

Other objects and advantages will become ap parent as the following description proceeds.

To the accomplishment of the foregoing and related ends, said invention, then, comprises the features hereinafter fully described and particularly pointed out in the claims, the following description and the annexed drawing setting forth in detail certain illustrative embodiments of the invention, these being indicative, however, of but a few of the various ways in which the principle of the invention may be employed.

In said annexed drawing the single figure illustrates (partly in elevational cross section and partly in perspective) a typical embodiment of this invention.

Referring now more especially to the drawing, there is illustrated therein a building including a floor F which may optionally be the floor of a single story building or the top floor of a multistory building having exterior walls I of the usual construction, each including a series of exterior columns 2, successive ones of which in each series are spaced apart 20 feet or some other convenient distance. Spanning the upper ends of said co1=- umns 2 and supported thereby are a corresponding series of horizontally disposed roof supporting beams 3 (preferably I-beams or equivalent structural shapes) of a depth of about eighteen inches or more or less depending upon the spans and loads to be supported thereby. On said beams 3 and on the upper ends of said columns 2 are purlins 4 and cave struts 5 respectively, which are adapted to support thereover a roof 6 of any desired construction, said purlins being preferably arranged as illustrated so as to provide a roof having a pitch.

Within the building are one or more series of interior columns I connected to said beams 3 and extending upwardly therebeyond. In the exemplary building illustrated, there are two such series of columns I spaced apart so as to provide a sixty foot interior bay and spaced from the walls I so as to provide forty-five foot exterior bays. Extending longitudinally of each series of columns 1 and connected to the upper ends of each are monitor struts 8. Also connected to the upper end of each column 1 are diagonals 9 which have their lower ends connected to said beams 3 on opposite sides of said columns. Thus, said columns l and said diagonals 9 provide intermediate support for said beams 3 whereby the latter may be of reduced size. In a preferred construction said diagonals 9 may each comprise a pair of rectangular cross section bars with the lower ends thereof passing through slots formed in the top flange of the associated beam 3 and connected on opposite sides of the web thereof.

Projecting upwardly from said beams 3 at or near the points of connection of the diagonals 9 with said beams are series of posts l forming supports'for monitor eave struts l I, which struts support purlins i2, said purlins being intermediately supported by the monitor struts 8. Said posts l0, struts 3 and l I, and purlins l2 constitute monitor frames M. The monitor roof is supported by the purlins l2 and installed between'the posts Ill are window sash of the usual form.

It is now apparent that the present building construction is of extremely simple but yet sturdy form and that it is of minimum height without necessitating any sacrifice inor loss of clearance height to thereby effect substantial savings in erection and maintenance, as previously indicated.

With regard to the adaptability of thebuildin to future expansion it can be seen that, should it be desired to enlarge the building. to provide additional interior bays it is only. necessary to remove or move one or both of.- the walls I and add to the building (if right-hand wall I. is removed) a structure'corresponding with that indicated by the line it. if one additional interior bay is desired, or that. indicated by, the line I1 if two additional. bays are desired, etc. In such expanded building, One series, of diagonals 9 will efiectively support the connection, of the. original beams 3 with the beams'fi in the new. section or sections.

Although the joints of the various members constituting the building construction herein described may be riveted or welded. together it is preferred that they be bolted. together to, facilitate field erection. For, example, the mterior columns 1 may comprise Iii-beams. bolted to the roof beams 3 through they expedient. of. the, usual clip angles or the like (not. shown). To. further simplify the building construction, the purlins may simply be supportedon thetopsof thebeanis 3 thereby providing a. flatroof E, anclpfacilitating connection of. the purlins, top the. beams.

In any event, the presentv constructionrenders it simple and convenient. to erect the same and to provide certain desirable characteristics which are afforded by monitorsbutyet theheightof the b l in is av minim m nd. the. learan e. height therein is a maximum, and, is uniform throughout the building. The, present construc; tion thus makes advantageous use of the space within the monitors, As, previously indicated, whereas a trussed beam is of ,the, orderhof 5 or 6 feet deep, the beam in the present, case is only of the order of some 1 /2 feet,'thereby effecting a saving of 3 tov 4 feetpwhich, of course, effectuates substantial savings percentwise when itis considered thatthe usual clearance height may only be feet or thereabout.

Ordinarily, the beams 3 will each comprise individual sections, viz. exterior beams having their opposite ends connected to the columns 2 and 7 spanned thereby and an interior beam having its opposite ends connected to the columns! spanned thereby, but insofar as the principal features of this invention are concerned it is immaterial whether said beams 3 are continuous between the columns 2 or comprise individual sections as aforesaid. Therefore, in the ensuing claims the term beam is used tofdenote both continuous beams and beams comprising plural sections.;.

Other modes of applying the principle of the invention may be employed, change being made as regards the details described, provided the features stated in any of the following claims, or the equivalent of such, be employed.

I therefore particularly point out and distinctly claim as my invention:

1. In a building construction, the combination of a beam unit, supports for the ends and intermediate portion of said beam unit including a continuous column extending upwardly above'the intermediate portion of said beam unit, a monitor framdcarried on an intermediate portion of said beam unit, said column extending upwardly into said monitor frame, said beam unit being of depth and strengthrelative to the loading thereof and to the span between said supports to require added support, and a pair of diagonal members connected to the upper end portion of said column and to said beam unit on opposite sides of said column at points between said column and the respective supports for the ends. of said beam unit so as to provide such added support for said beam unitwithout increasing the height of the building and without decreasing and ob.- structing the clearance space below said beam unit.

2. In a building construction, the combination of a beam unit, supports for the ends and intermediate portions of said beam unit including a pair of spaced apart continuous columns. each extending upwardly above the intermediate portions of said beam unit, a pairofspaced apart monitor frames carried on the intermediate portions of said beam unit, said columns extending upwardly into the respective monitor frames; said beam unit being of depth and strengthrelative to the loading thereof and to the spanbetween said supports to require added support, and two pairs of diagonal members, each pair being connected to the upper end. portion ofthe respective column and to said beam unit on op.- posite sidesof the respective column atpoints spaced from the respective column so as to provide such added support for saidbeam unit'without increasing the height of the building andwithout decreasing and obstructing theclearance space below said beam unit.

3. The building construction according to claim; 2 further characterized in thatthe span between said columns is greater than the spans between said columns and the supports for the ends of said beam unit and in that the points ofconnection of said diagonal members to the portion of said beam unit which spans said columns are spaced apart to provide two points of such addedsupport to such portion of said beam unit.

4. In a building construction, thecombination of a beam unit, supports for the ends and intermediate portion of'said beam unit including a column extendingupwardly abovetheintermediate portion of said beam unit, a monitorframe carried on an intermediate portion of saidbeam unit, saidcolumnextending upwardlyinto said monitor frame, said beam. unit being of. depth and strength relative to the loading thereof and to the span between said supports to require, added support, and a pair of diagonal members connected to the upper end portion-of said column and to said beam unit onopposite sides of said. column at points between said column and the. respective supports for the ends of said beam unit so, as to provide, such added supportiorsaid beam unit without increasing the, height of. the...

building and without decreasing, and obstructini 5 '6 the clearance space below said beam unit, the portion of said column immediately above the TED STATES PATENTS top edge of said beam unit having a strength in Number Name I Date bending at least as great as the portion of said 1,074,526 Pond Sept 30, 1913 column therebelowa 2,177,932 Battey Oct, 31, 1939 ALFRED GERBER- 2,290,195 MacMillan July 21, 1942 4 REFERENCES CITED 2,380,600 Lowenstein July 31, 19-5 The following references are of record in the file of this patent: 10 

